A LARPing Good Time
by Sciencegal
Summary: Kimberly introduces her new friends to Live Action Role Play (LARP). Will the turtles enjoy this new game? Character Piece. Oneshot. Part of a future romance series.


**A/N:**** This is mostly a character piece. It's to help me introduce a future OC romance series I have planned. Meet Kimberly Davis everyone! She really shinned in this little oneshot. I had so much trouble writing her in her multi-chapter, I had to play with her character in a short fic. In this, she's already met the turtles. This fanfic takes place _after_ Taming the Beast, but before the second fanfic in the series. There are no spoilers, though. Just allusions to an event that occurs in its predecessor.**

**Disclaimer****:**** I obviously don't own the turtles. They belong to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and those who have licenses to use them. I am merely borrowing them for this short fic. I do own Kimberly, though. She's my newest baby XD. I hope she's liked. If not, I tried.**

* * *

"Hold still, will you?" Kimberly Davis fought with the stubborn garment with needle and thread as her weapon of choice. Her auburn hair fanned over her shoulders, the crimped strands following a pattern of their own in their unusual freedom. She unconsciously forced the loose strands behind her ear as she concentrated on her goal.

"It's fine the way it is," Leonardo groaned as he tried not to squirm beneath her touch. He wasn't used to being this close to her. Kimberly usually kept her distance, but today, there wasn't much choice. Today was the first LARPing session she was attending with her new friends.

"No, it's not. I've been making these costumes for years. I know how secure it has to be to last long enough. This isn't it."

"It's not that bad, bro. At least she's gentle," Donatello commented as he thumbed through a paperback book.

"Yours didn't take this long." Leonardo shot his brother a disapproving look. "Is it done yet, Kimberly?"

"Almost…" Kimberly finished the last stitch with a flourish. "Done!" She stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Now you'll all be my swamp creature minions!" She rubbed her hands together in devilish intrigue. It was an expression rarely seen on the usually quiet young woman.

"Remind me whose idea this was again?"

"This is awesome!" Michelangelo bounded into the large tent they were occupying, already swinging the boffer around at invisible enemies.

Leonardo groaned. "Now I remember."

Kimberly snatched the padded weapon out of Michelangelo's hands at the first opportunity. "Be careful with this! It's special to me. I saved the world with it." She grinned in reflection. "I was a beautiful elven princess back then. Oh, I miss her. I wish she hadn't died permanently last year." She held the boffer close. She didn't immediately note the looks that got her. "What?"

"You really take this seriously, don't you?" Leonardo asked her.

Kimberly's smile returned in response. "It's fun! I can be whoever I want to be here. Like today," she modeled her costume, "I'm a tree sprite named Drayna and I left my tree to avenge those that wish to destroy my home. A fae granted me the ability to call upon my swamp creatures – you – to assist me in my journey." She used her elbows to make her fairy wings flap a little.

"This rule book is huge." Donatello returned his gaze to the book in his hands. "Over 200 pages? Is that necessary? Seems it will take a lot to memorize it all."

"It does, but it's worth it. Mistakes slow the game. Too many pauses can be really hard on those that have effects on them or are dead. I had to lie on the ground for an hour one of those times. It was horrible." She shivered in reverie.

"Hand it over," Leonardo said, reaching a hand back towards Donatello. "I haven't had a chance to really look at it yet."

Donatello stood to pass on the book. "Where'd Raph go, anyway?" He asked, looking at Michelangelo. "I thought he was with you."

"He overheard two green-painted people talking about the ale at the tavern. He left to check it out." He glanced back at the entrance. "He said it would be quick."

This had Leonardo frowning. "Are you sure this is safe, Kimberly?"

"Of course! Everyone's in costume. Yours will just be better than the average."

"Listen to the expert, Leo. She knows what she's talking about." Michelangelo winked at Kimberly. "I saw a lot of people already and they all complimented me on my 'costume'. It's awesome!"

Leonardo didn't appear convinced, but he didn't argue, either. He sat back in his chair and thumbed through the rule book.

"It'll be interesting, that's for sure," Donatello commented.

"'Course there ain't real ale," Raphael grumbled as he pushed his way through the cloth doors of the tent. "Nuthin's real here. It's just all a bunch of sci-fi nerds stuck in their own fantasies." His eyes landed on Kimberly's hurt frown. "Ya know, they could just call it what it is: soda." He held up the can in his hand before taking a swig.

"That's not how it works though. It's all about immersion." Kimberly self-consciously pulled at her costume. "Not everyone can be real heroes like you guys. This is my chance to feel like one. To have that moment of power to change the world. Yeah, it may not be real, but it's meant to feel like it."

"You're already a hero in my book, Kimi!" Michelangelo pulled her into a half-hug so he could ruffle her hair a bit.

"Hey!" She pulled away and brushed her fingers through the frizzy mess he created with a pout. "I just got it to stop looking as crappy as usual. It took me hours!"

"It doesn't look any different to me."

"You're incorrigible." Whether she meant it lightly or not wasn't clear, but she did return to her previous discussion with gusto. "Anyway, it's supposed to be fun. Though…it might be best if you try not to be too good at the fighting. Some of the NPCs are my friends."

"You don't have to worry about that." Donatello waved the subject away. "We know how to cushion our blows."

Kimberly walked over to the tent's door and pulled back the cloth. "Well we should get going, then. The head plotter's going to make a speech before we begin. It's mandatory to be there." She reached back to grab the hand of the first turtle she could reach – Raphael – and led the group with an eager, "Come on!"

* * *

By the end of the third – and last – day of the activities, Kimberly led the group into their tent. She quickly found a seat and slumped down into it. She pulled her hair back into a quick pony before giving each of her companions a cursory glance. Michelangelo caught her eye first when he pulled up a chair opposite her, a large grin on his face. She could hear Leonardo and Donatello before she saw them. The two brothers were sparring with their boffers and speaking in hushed tones. She found Raphael last, hovering by the tent's support with his arms folded over his plastron. He was watching Leonardo and Donatello with interest. The one thing she noticed they all shared was something she currently lacked: energy. "How do you guys do it? I'm exhausted and you look like you barely broke a sweat." Kimberly nearly whined.

"Lots of practice," Michelangelo said.

"This ain't nuthin'. I didn't even get a good workout." Raphael didn't look over, but he appeared to be listening to her more than Kimberly originally thought.

"So…" Kimberly began, slowly. "How'd you like LARPing?" She ducked her head in apprehension of their response. She had opened her world to them. She worried they would hate it. She hadn't known them long. They could easily still push her aside.

"Can we do it again? Like soon?!" Michelangelo bounced in his seat. "It's so much more fun than MMO! Can I have magic next time? Please?" He dragged out the last word or emphasis.

"Only if you learn to keep better track of your life points." Kimberly smirked. "You're not immortal in this game, you know. You have to die after so many hits. The plot community had to pause the game four times for your cheating."

"Five," Raphael grumbled. "You missed tha one in tha forest."

"I wasn't cheating, though! Those were totally false calls." Michelangelo frowned. "Anyway, it's harder when there's no life bar hovering over the character to remind you. I want someone doing the math for me. It's easier that way."

"Raph?"

"It's not horrible." Raphael finally looked at Kimberly to answer. "Just weird. They need better fighters. It might be better with that." He shrugged before glancing back at the last two. With a devious smirk, he grabbed Kimberly's brush off the table and whipped it at the back of Leonardo's head.

The targeted turtle snatched the brush out of the air before it could make contact. Leonardo turned to face the offender with narrowed eyes, ceasing his spar.

Before he could say a thing, Raphael said, "Kimi wants ta know whatcha thought of the game."

"Use your words next time instead of throwing things." Leonardo threw the brush at Raphael.

"It's more fun this way." Raphael caught the brush and placed it in Kimberly's open hand.

Leonardo turned his eyes to the ceiling before looking over at Kimberly. "There was a lot more to it then I originally expected. I'll have to study the rule book a little more if we ever come again. Still, it's not really my thing." He shifted his stance a little. "Some of the rules don't really make much sense. It's not realistic."

"You totally loved it. Admit it!" Michelangelo moved around the table to shove a finger inches from his brother's face. "You're going gamer! I knew I'd convert you one day!"

"I didn't say that." Leonardo pushed Michelangelo's hand away.

"I'll say it for you, then," Donatello interjected. "He loves it. In his words 'it could be a great form of training.' We all know what that's code for."

"It's Leo-code for 'Best thing ever!'" Michelangelo punched the air with both of his fists. "I betcha loved the 'elves'. Huh? _Huh?_ I saw you checking them out." He poked at Leonardo's plastron.

"Would you quit that!" Leonardo backed away from his brother. "I was curious about their weapon choice, that's all. Your wild imagination's getting away from you again."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

"It's cool, bro." Michelangelo patted his brother's shoulder. "We'll keep your secret."

"Yeah," Raphael joined in. "I'll be keeping it right here." He pointed to his own head. "So I can r'membah it fer later."

Leonardo groaned.

Donatello snickered before speaking, "Anyway, my opinion on the game? It'll take some getting used to, but I'm in for a round two. Just as long as it stays three days. I don't want it cutting into my projects too much, if I can help it. I still have to look over the security protocol to ensure it runs smoothly."

Kimberly was grinning by the time he finished. "I'm glad you all liked it, at least. We _can_ return next year. There's a small fall retreat before the annual, but I need time to make you all pros. This is going to rock!" She gave each turtle a hug with renewed energy, whether or not they were totally comfortable with one. Michelangelo's took the longest only because the turtle made it so.

"You're my bestest friend ever!" Michelangelo said.

"You're welcome, Mikey." Kimberly laughed. She was glad she met the turtles, now more than ever. She had real friends now. Ones that knew both of her worlds. It was very freeing.

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**A/N: I suppose it would be more interesting to write some of their LARPing adventures, but as I'm not a LARPer, I'm hesitant to write something I only researched. So you get this instead. It _is_ only a character piece. It doesn't have to be lengthy...right? Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed Mikey and Kimi are friends. That's all, though. It's platonic. Her guy is one of his brothers. I didn't hint either way, though. Mostly because I'm down to two, but I'm still not exactly sure. Taming the Beast will reveal who it is. ...I love picking on Leo... Anyway, feed that review box! It's hungry! Starving, actually XD. I need to write more often.**


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